There is Hypertufa -made out of cement, sand and peat. Of course you'd might have to swap the peat for something similar.
I remember making containers out of this years ago- over time the cement component settles down and does not leach too much.
Habitat-style staging
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- Ali Baba
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Re: Habitat-style staging
It doesn’t surprise me, last time I bought a large chunk of tufa to make a tufa garden was around 1980 from Ingwersens nursery…Paul in Essex wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2024 3:34 pm It's been a while since I looked for any but last time it was all but impossible to get tufa anywhere and, secondhand, it was staggeringly expensive.
- Ali Baba
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Re: Habitat-style staging
I’ve got a couple of home made troughs made from hypertufa. Good for troughs but not much good for a naturalistic planting
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Re: Habitat-style staging
If you're watering enough you would wash a lot of any dissolved carbonates out but I'd be wary with things that get less water at times.Ali Baba wrote: ↑Sat Apr 06, 2024 2:14 pmYou can grow lime hating alpines in it if I recall correctly, I don’t think it releases much calcium.
It would also depend on your planting medium and fertiliser choice as there's plenty of carbonates in the rock. I have a few smaller pieces around from an old reef tank and it is very soft stuff, certainly would be easy to chisel out a planting pocket.
Ed
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- greatnorthernexotic
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Re: Habitat-style staging
I'm using Yorkstone simply because I have an abundance of it in my garden. Rock is expensive!
Here's another staging I did today. A tiny ariocarpus retusus robustus that I bought from Tina.
Here's another staging I did today. A tiny ariocarpus retusus robustus that I bought from Tina.
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BCSS #54601 (LEEDS BRANCH)
youtube.com/@greatnorthernexotic / instagram.com/greatnorthernexotic
In the greenhouse: ariocarpus, astrophytum, aztekium, copiapoa, lophophora...
In the outdoor arid bed: hardy agave, aloe, dasylirion, hesperaloe, opuntia, yucca...
BCSS #54601 (LEEDS BRANCH)
youtube.com/@greatnorthernexotic / instagram.com/greatnorthernexotic
In the greenhouse: ariocarpus, astrophytum, aztekium, copiapoa, lophophora...
In the outdoor arid bed: hardy agave, aloe, dasylirion, hesperaloe, opuntia, yucca...
- MatDz
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Re: Habitat-style staging
I wish someone would be selling less than a tonne of it... Maybe it's time for a join order of Yorkstone?greatnorthernexotic wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2024 3:51 pm I'm using Yorkstone simply because I have an abundance of it in my garden. [...]
Mat
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Re: Habitat-style staging
Find a local stone merchants - you can usually pop along and pick your own rocks.
Ed
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BCSS member 53038
- MatDz
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Re: Habitat-style staging
That might actually work, I have already found one stating they supply Yorkstone.
Mat
- greatnorthernexotic
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Re: Habitat-style staging
What other rock types available in the UK might be worth trying? I'd really like to plant an aztekium vertically in some gypsum.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BCSS #54601 (LEEDS BRANCH)
youtube.com/@greatnorthernexotic / instagram.com/greatnorthernexotic
In the greenhouse: ariocarpus, astrophytum, aztekium, copiapoa, lophophora...
In the outdoor arid bed: hardy agave, aloe, dasylirion, hesperaloe, opuntia, yucca...
BCSS #54601 (LEEDS BRANCH)
youtube.com/@greatnorthernexotic / instagram.com/greatnorthernexotic
In the greenhouse: ariocarpus, astrophytum, aztekium, copiapoa, lophophora...
In the outdoor arid bed: hardy agave, aloe, dasylirion, hesperaloe, opuntia, yucca...
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Re: Habitat-style staging
Don't just worry about UK types - you can even get some fantastic stuff that's been imported.greatnorthernexotic wrote: ↑Sun Apr 07, 2024 7:41 pm What other rock types available in the UK might be worth trying? I'd really like to plant an aztekium vertically in some gypsum.
My local stone merchants (https://www.cedstone.co.uk/) once had some massive pieces of this holey rock, https://hugokamishi.com/shop/brown-holey-rock/.
Ed
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BCSS member 53038